Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region XII
Division of Sultan Kudarat
ISULAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Old Capitol East, Kalawag II, Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, Philippines

Journey Beyond Distance:Exploring the lived experiences of commute students

A Qualitative Research
Presented to Senior High School Department
Isulan National High School

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Subject
Practical Research I

By

Jay-r M. Reston

Benjamin D. Batua

Mary Grace C. Dahan

Nesrene Y. Mantikayan

11-HUMSS 2

S.Y: 2022-2023
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. TITLE PAGE…………………………………………………

II. APPROVAL SHEET……….…………………………………

III. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT...…………………………………………...

IV. ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………….

V. INTRODUCTION............................................................................

Statement of the Problem……………………………………

Significance of the Study………………………………………

Scope and Delimitations of the Study..………………………

VI. RESEARCH FRAMEWORK

Review of Related Studies and Literature...……………...

VII. METHODOLOGY……………………………………………………….

Research Design……………………………………………….

Research Locale………………………………………

Sampling Technique Used with Description of the Samples…

Ethical Considerations………………………………………

Data Gathering Procedure………………………………..

Data Analysis……………………………………………….

VIII. PRESENTATIONS OF RESULTS,

INTERPRETATIONS AND ANALYSIS…………………………………

IX. SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS………………………………………….

X. REFERENCES…………………………………………………

XI. APPENDICES……………………………………………………

XII. CURRICULUM VITAE…………………………………………

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

By continuing to live at home, one can save on housing and food expenses.

Commuter schools also offer a level of convenience in that you can continue to use

the same resources as you did in high school, like laundry, a job, and Internet access.

In addition, not having to move can be more convenient simply in terms of the

logistics of packing and travel. Commuter school is keeping your support system

intact. Because you are still living in the same place, you can rely on the same people

to support you, except perhaps for friends who have chosen to go away for college.

Aside from your friends who have chosen to go away for college, though,

you’ll still have your parents, other friends, and trusted mentors to lend a hand when

you need it but other commuter going to school is the decreased freedom and

independence that you’re likely to have as a result. If you continue living at home,

even if you have parents who allow you to come and go freely, you still won’t

experience the independence that can only come from living on your own for the first

time since you’ll always have the safety net of your parents there. (Kate Sundquist,

2017)

According to Emma Hancock, (2018) the most obvious benefit of commuting

to your school is the amount of money you save. This can come from not having to

pay for room and board, not having a meal plan, and having to worry about the

general upkeep of having a room on campus. According to her, she saves even more
money by packing her lunch each day, and not allowing spending money on food

when on campus.

It depends on how far away you live from your schools; you can end up

spending a good amount of money on gas, especially if you have a vehicle that does

not have amazing gas mileage. That is if a student have a form of transportation.

Being a commuter student, who live their families, are not having an easy time in a

system geared to the residential experience. But given the soaring costs of halls,

staying at home can seem an attractive option. (Liz Lightfoot, 2018) Takes long

commutes going to school have negative impacts on student well-being, especially on

sleep and exercise.

According to Inquirer, Philippines Star (2019) Like regular workers who

commute to work, students also have to deal with the physical effects of the traffic

situation in the country. Enduring long hours of commute will obviously lead to tired

muscles, on top of the cognitive stress of undergoing the ordeal. A combination of

both will lead to over-all slugging feeling of fatigue. The population in Metro Manila

in 2014 estimated at 13 million, the congestion can only get worse especially with the

opening of classes and the influx of students from the provinces and the working

people who rely mostly on jeeps and buses to bring them to work. The stifling heat,

the pollution and the grindingly slow pace of traffic all add to the agonizing

conditions that commuters have to go through every single day something that could

be avoided if we have an efficient and reliable public transport system. (The

Philippine Star, 2014).

This study aims the experiences of students who commute far from school

every day. They spend their most of time while travelling that’s why they felt, dizzy
and sleep. It affects their Mental health because of stress and it affects their physical

health due to lessen time of sleep.

Research gap

Within the research regarding students that are far from School, there may be

an in depth research established within students that are far from School, but nothing

or very less about the experiences of students that are close to school or students who

walk to school everyday compared to students that are far from School who commute

to school everyday.

Statement of the problem

The objective of this qualitative research is to determine the experiences and

problems of students who commute to school due to being far from school for the

students of Isulan National High School for the school year 2022-2023. In this

research, the experiences and problems of students that are far from School will be

explore and determined.

Objectives of the study

The main objectives of this study is to find out the effect of school distance on

student’s academic performance, specifically the study intends to;

1. Find out the extent to which school location affects the academic achievement of

secondary school students

2. Examine the influence of long distance on students lateness to schstu

3. Analyze the effect of school distance on academic performance of secondary

school students.

Significance of the study

and community members about the importance of appropriate location of the

community secondary schools on learner’s academic performance. Therefore,

findings are appropriate in future planning and practice in building new secondary

schools on proper strategies to institute better learning environment. Further, as long

as school location was likely to affect academic performance of the learners, the

findings open new avenues for future studies in different secondary schools.

Scope and Delimitations of the study

The purpose of this study is to explore the experiences and the problems of

students that are far from School. This study will be conducted in Isulan National

High School, Incorporated for academic year 2022-2023 with the participants of 6,

range from junior to senior high school and an age gap or 14-21 years of age.

CHAPTER II

Review on Related Literature

This chapter presents review of related literature and studies for further

understanding of the study. In addition, this part of the study accounts for the works
that have been published on the topic by accredited scholars and researchers. All this

would allow the readers to map the field and position the research within the context.

Every country made efforts to make education accessible to all because

education is significant in the country’s development. However, these efforts differ in

every country (Getachew, 2018).

In developing countries like the Philippines, poor quality of education is

linked to different factors such as the school and community (Saeed, 2003).

The population that the school caters and the distance that students need to

travel everyday is one the important aspects that the government needs to consider in

building schools (Duze, 2010).

In rural areas where people living in the community are from each other,

school distance is oftentimes the problem for students because they need to travel

long distances everyday to reach school. There are two modes that students can travel

in going to school such as the passive and active modes. Passive mode of travelling

refers to transporting through motorized vehicles while active mode refers to walking

or cycling (Baliyan & Khama, 2020).

In mountain areas where there are few road infrastructures, passive mode of

travelling is not always applicable for students. This results to walking long distances

to reach school. A distance of one or more than one kilometer of walking is

considered a long distance walk for students. Students who are in this situation in

order to attend school could suffer the adverse effects of long distance walking (Duze,

2010; Thomas, 2016).

Students who are very far from school will have difficulties in completing

outside-school tasks because of the time spent walking from school to home and vice

versa (Waswa, 2015; Nelson, Misra, Sype, & Mackie, 2016).

arriving home or school late aside from experiencing fatigue and hunger (Onderi,

Kiplangat, & Awino, 2014). A considerable amount of energy is lost when students

are exposed to walking at long distances and can also lead to poor concentration on

their school tasks, promote absenteeism and school drop-outs (Marique, Dujardin,

Teller, & Reiter, 2013; Moyo, 2013; Taiwo, 2019). For students who are far from

school, they need to wake up early while they can return home late which sacrifices

their time for studying. This could also affect their sleep patterns (Pradhan & Sinha,

2017).

Mhiliwa (2015) investigated the degree to which distance influenced the

scholastic accomplishment of the students in secondary schools in Makambako Town

Council. Results revealed that more extended distance traveled by the students to

school made them late and with empty stomachs. The school distance has

disappointed students because of the long walk they have to take in order to reach

school.

Moyo (2013) analyzed the impacts of walking over long distance to and from

school. It was found out that long distance travel will result to arriving school late and

at home after school late at night. It was additionally clarified that on account of

longer walking, exhaustion and hunger lead students to fatigue during learning.

Additionally, walking at stretched out distance to class essentially make students

arrive at schools with empty stomachs and delay influencing badly, their academic

performance.

Baliyan and Khama (2020) investigated the impact of distance to school of the

168 students in Botswana on their performance in school. Results revealed that

distance to school has significant impact on their school performance. Further, the
Post Hoc analysis revealed that long travelling distance had negative impact on the

students performance. Thus, they recommend that students stay closer to school and

have reliable school transportation. Moreover, Duze (2010) examined the average

distance travelled to school by students in primary and secondary schools in the three

states of Nigeria and its effect on attendance. Results revealed that majority of the

students travelled up to five kilometers which had negative effects on their

attendance.

Ebinum et al. (2017) investigated the relationship between school distance and

academic achievement of primary school pupils in Ovia North-East LGA. Results

revealed that the pupils travelled long distance to school. Further, the test revealed a

significant relationship between school distance and academic achievement of male

primary school pupils while no significant relationship for the female primary school

pupils. It was recommended that the primary schools be located in strategic locations

to lessen the distance travelled by the pupils.

Moreover, there are different research findings regarding the effects of school

location on the academic performance of the students in mathematics. School location

is categorized here as rural and urban schools. Schools in the rural areas have

concerns on their proximity such as the distance from the residents and accessibility.

Alordiah, Akpadaka, and Oviogbodu (2015) stressed that students from the

rural areas who are attending schools encounter more challenges than students from

urban schools which greatly affects their performance in mathematics. Owoeye and

Yara (2011) added that students’ school location influence their academic

performance in school in which rural areas are characterized by poor school mapping,

lack of passable roads and students’ unwillingness to attend school because of their

isolated villages. However, many research findings argued that students’ school
location does not influence their performance in mathematics (Ezeudu & Obi, 2013;

Ezeudu et al., 2014; Ntibi & Edoho, 2017; Osadebe & Oghomena, 2018). Hence,

there is no established literature that would answer concerns regarding this matter.

As indicated, neighborhood schools provide an environment for children to be

surrounded by neighbors in a school system that promotes healthy growth, academic

achievement, and a sense of community pride. Neighborhood schools allow parents to

be involved in their child’s school environment. Here, parents can volunteer when

needed, attended sporting games and after school activities, and most likely get to

know teachers

very well.

A transportation-mandated school or smart growth school disrupts all of these

concepts. The parents cannot get involved as much or as often because of the travel

time distance. Students may end up spending a lot of time in the car or bus going to

and from school, which cuts down on their time with their families as well doing

homework and studying. This in turn can affect the amount of sleep they get per night

and consequently affect their academic achievement. This study investigates the cause

and effect of poor academic achievement in transportation mandated schools.

School Choice

Research within the past few years has shown many parents have chosen to

send their children to schools other than their designated neighborhood school. The

process of parents sending their children to schools other than their neighborhood

schools is referred to as school choice. There has not been much research done on the

effects of leaving your

children in their neighborhood school but there has been a lot on sending them to

another school. Some research has found that there seems to be no difference in
academic achievement for students attending neighborhood schools and those who

have chosen to attend another school. What this research has shown is there is an

achievement gap between students of different races.

A large majority of Caucasian children attend schools outside their

neighborhood school and show high academic achievement. This relationship leads

many to believe that non-neighborhood schools have high achievement rates but in

actuality it is a race difference. (Ledwith, 2010).

Parents now have a variety of schools to choose from for their children. Some

of them include designated neighborhood schools, magnet schools, charter schools,

voucher programs for private schools and catholic schools, and the new distance

learning schools

(Andre-Bechely, 2005). Like all things there are pros and cons for all of these schools.

All of them indirectly affect each other. Many researchers have argued that attending

neighborhood schools allows for more parent involvement which in turn leads to

greater academic achievement (Kang, Shumow & Vandell, 1996). Others have found

that children to attend non-neighborhood schools have lower academic achievement

and higher rates of conduct problems than their neighborhood school counterparts

(Witte, Bailey & Thorn, 1992).

Researchers all agree that a positive indicator of academic achievement,

especially for reading and math, is the parents’ involvement in the school (Kang et al.,

1996). Lubienski and Lubienski (2006) found that students attending their

neighborhood schools scored higher in math than those who attend non-neighborhood

schools. Another positive side of attending neighborhood school is the sense of

community the child feels in school and out of school (Lubienski, Lubienski & Crane,

2008).
 It has been found that a strong sense of community in school can lead to better

teaching and learning (Lubienski et al., 2008). The rise of magnet schools has become

a debated issue across the country. Some argue for these schools to give especially

bright children the type of curriculum they need. And some argue that magnet schools

cause neighborhood schools to be filled with disadvantaged and low academic

achieving students. Research has shown that attending school with children who are

of a higher socioeconomic status can increase academic achievement. Whatever the

reasoning for this, magnet schools have been known to cause a large concentration of

poverty level students to accumulate in neighborhood schools because those of higher

status have gone to non-neighborhood schools, such as magnet schools. (Neild, 2004).

The new era of distance learning has also impacted the education system.

Neighborhood school enrollment is decreasing because parents and students now have

so many options for education. Distance learning gives access to everyone to learn.

This organized learning technique teaches students through media. There is no

teacher unless requested. (Collins, 2008) researchers have found that the academic

achievement of those who choose distance learning over more traditional types of

learning is no different. However, these children lose a very important component of

schooling, socialization. (Blomeyer, Cavanaugh, Gillan, Hess, & Kromrey, 2004).

As shown, the ability for parents to choose their children’s place of education can

be good and bad. For the traditional institution of neighborhood schools this option is

extremely detrimental. The child loses an important component of education and that

is socialization especially within one’s own community.

The quality of neighborhood school’s education can also be affected if most

children in the higher socioeconomic classes leave to go to non-neighborhood

schools. Opinions of neighborhood schools then shift. More and more parents could
start to take their children out of these schools. This could cause parents to move and

before anyone knows it an entire community is abandoned.

School Location

The idea of neighborhood schools came about so children could be educated

amongst their own peers in an area close to home. This way children could walk or

bike to school and pollution could decrease. Many years ago educators and

policymakers argued that children should not have to commute more than a half of a

mile to school. Therefore, schools should be located within walking distance for the

greatest number of children possible (i.e. a neighborhood school). Schools located

within a neighborhood not

only decreases pollution and congestion but it allows for the entire community to use

its resources. The library can be used for everyone, the gymnasium can be used for

community meetings, and playgrounds can be used by families after school hours.

(McDonald, 2010).

Researchers have found that school location is extremely important to

children’s academic achievement (Gordon & Monastiriotis, 2007). The journey a

child takes to school, either walking, biking, by bus, or by parent, can take away from

the child’s learning experience. Many parents feel the travel distance and time is

worth it if the child is getting a better education (Allen, 2007).

Some states have taken upon themselves to counter for this train of thought.

School boards want parents to send their children to their school of choice for reasons

besides their neighborhood school gives a poor education. Improving neighborhood

schools will allow students to be educated closer to home and decrease bus pollution.

It also allows for community’s to become invested in their local school and increases
parent involvement. Here the students’ proximity to school is most important.

(Cohen-Vogel,Goldring, Smrekar, & Taylor, 2006).

Neighborhood Schools

Research on neighborhood schools has focused largely on the Impact tthese

schools have on children’s health. Neighborhood schools allow children to walk or

bike which leads to lower rates of obesity. Some of have found that students who live

close enough to school to walk or bike show higher rates of walking and biking

( Ewing,Greene & Schroeer, 2004). A problem lies in the ability of these children to

walk or bike. Sidewalk availability to and from school was a huge factor in parents

allowing their

children to walk or bike (Ewing, Forinash & Schroeer, 2005).

Surveys given in 2001 showed that less than 15% of students aged 5-15 walk or

bike to school. Thirty-three years before 48% of students reported walking or biking

to school. What has changed? Reports have shown that now only 31% of students live

close enough to school to walk or bike and in 1969 ninety percent lived within one

mile of their school. The large decrease in walking or biking has caused the childhood

obesity rate in

this country to sky rocket. If students lived close enough to their neighborhood

schools and had a safe route to take, more and more would choose to walk to bike.

(Ewing et al.,2005).

Again and again in research parent involvement in their children’s school is

said to be a main factor in high academic achievement. This is why many researchers

argue for neighborhood schools. Less parent involvement due to schools located

farther from home can affect the quality of the school dramatically. In addition,

student involvement
in after school activities is difficult because these students cannot walk home after

they are finished. ( Bogart & Cromwell, 2000).

Cook, Payne & Sinha (2005) studied the potential impact of neighborhood

schools. They found that higher academic performance was shown when students

attended school with a majority of other students from the same neighborhood. One

reason for this might be that students who attend school within their neighborhood

develop tight social ties with classmates and other individuals within their

community. Math and reading scores also proved higher in neighborhood schools.

Therefore, as stated

before, neighborhood schools have a positive influence on children’s development.

(Cook, Payne & Sinha, 2005).

The main idea in most studies on neighborhood schools is the impact the

community has on the child and the school. Communities have been found to have

positive effects on children developmentally and academically. This has become the

central idea in the argument for keeping neighborhood schools across America.

Community/Neighborhood Impact on a Child’s Education.

Research has shown that a children’s relationship with their

neighborhoods,families, peer groups, and school can positively influence school

success. If neighborhood in which the child is raised is supportive and safe high

academic achievement rates have been found. If the grows up in an environment

where people want them to succeed then they have a greater rate of succeeding.

(Bowen, Glennie, Powers, &Rose, 2008).

It has been shown that it is important for schools and communities to work

together. The conditions within a community directly affect the environment within

the school. It is the school’s job to promote positive outcome for all of their students.
Therefore, communities also need to support its residents in order to raise children

positively. (Wiseman, 2009).

As stated, school, neighborhood, and family have a direct influence on school

outcomes. Crime and violence in the community, poverty and neighborhood

dissatisfaction have an impact on how children are raised. And directly affect their

education. Reports have shown that African American children who a raised in

neighborhoods with an average of higher household incomes demonstrated higher

rates of high school graduation. This may be because of the income of both parents

which could result in more discipline in the household (i.e. more focus on academic

achievement and graduating). (Grogan-Kaylor & Woolley, 2006).

Socioeconomic status has also been found directly related to a child’s reading

development. A child’s resources, experience and interaction with their family and

community can result in higher or lower levels of reading. The quality of the

community in which a child is raised is key. The quality of the community affects the

quality of the school which consequently affects the child’s development. The

research has shown that schools and neighborhoods quality affect children as they

mature. Thus, the contributions

of the neighborhood are extremely important. They need to be positive. (Aikens

&Barbarian, 2008).

The neighborhood connectedness with their school is another factor in

academic success (Gross, Iachan, Overpeck, Ross, & Thompson, 2006). The loss of

connectedness

can leave a child with a huge decrease in social supports (Sergiovanni, 1994). This

loss in social supports reflects the student’s motivation and eventually can decrease

the rates of
high school graduation for the entire community. Dropout rates increase in these types

of communities and unemployment is affected. These effects are detrimental to

society as a whole. (Vartanian, 1999).

Commuting

Along with community affects on education, commuting to and from school

can positively affect a child’s academic achievement. Commuting not only decreases

the rate of childhood obesity but it can cause the “feel good factor”. This is when

children arrive to school with a more positive state of mind due to the same amount of

physical activity from walking or biking. Physical activity has always been positively

correlated with mental health. Students who exercise, even if it is just a little, feel

better about themselves

and do better academically. Research suggests that children should walk or bike to

school regularly. (Bentley, Clough, Fishlock, Hulley, Morrell, O’Brien, and Radmore,

2008).

The new era process of school choice has increased the amount of commuting

to and from school by car or bus (Marshall, McDonald, Meyer, Rajangam, Wilson,

&Wilson, 2010).

Not only has this increase caused more pollution and roadway congestion but

it has been shown to increase stress rates in adults and children. The stress of the

morning commute affects adults attitudes and performance, relationships between

family

members, emotional well-being and societal issues (Gonzalez & Novaco, ?). The

stress the parents feel getting children to school and making it to work on time affects

everyone in the family. The stress is also felt by the child and can cause problems in

school, both academically and socially.

METHODOLOGY

This chapter describes the research design, population and sample, research

instrument, data generation plan and data analysis plan.

Research design

This study used descriptive research design. The element of this design

descriptive research can be either quantitative or qualitative. It involved collection of

quantitative information that can be tabulated along continuum in numerical form.

This research design will be used in order to provide a vehicle for the statistical

relationship of stated variables as viewed by the respondent.

The researchers of this study entitled "Exploring the problem of students who

are far from school” will randomly select 10-15 of students in a total number of

students in Grade 11. The researcher will use random sampling technique in

determining the respondents.

Research Instrument

This study is descriptive in nature, the researchers will conduct interviews to

the respondents. The researcher will poses questions to the respondents and the

answers will be recorded by the researchers. Materials that could be used during the

interview include pen, paper, cellphone, and a voice recorder.

Data generation plan

The data generation plan will consist of Distance from school and Academic

Performance to know if the distance from school can affect a students performance

academically.

Data analysis plan

The data will be gathered, tallied and analyzed to answer the research

problems. correlation will be used to determine the relationship between the distance

from school and academic performance.

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